Icebreaker La Datcha, the Explorer Yacht With 40 Days of Autonomy

The hull for La Datcha, a stunning, elegant icebreaker that will be available for charter as soon as it’s inaugurated later in 2020, was built in Galati, Romania, while the interior and customizations are currently being added in Netherlands. The latter are done in accordance with Tinkov and his family’s wishes.

La Datcha was created as the “ultimate crossover of superyacht quality and finish with serious capability,” according to the shipyard. It’s an Ice Class yacht measuring 252 feet, with all the amenities you’d find on a superyacht and all the toys worthy of an expedition vessel. It was built with polar expeditions in mind but does not sacrifice the comfort and luxury of a superyacht for it.

More importantly, La Datcha can carry extra provisions and fuel that allow it to remain autonomous for 40 full days, without port call. This makes it perfect for lengthy cruises, so it’s a great thing that it’s already available for charter for the 2020/2021 season.

With an exterior design by Azure Yacht Design and a steel hull, La Datcha is massive but stylish. It can accommodate up to 12 guests and 25 crew. For the former, six elegant cabins are available, furnished in timeless, muted shades that invite to relaxation after a day out exploring, as designed by Vasiliy Shprits, who was personally handpicked by Tinkov after working for him on several of his restaurants.

When guests are not making expeditions inland, they can use the jacuzzi on deck (assuming it’s not freezing outside) or visit the wellness center equipped with a Turkish Hammam, ice fountain, and dedicated treatment room with a massage parlor. If this is too much relaxation for their taste, there’s always a fully-equipped gym with stunning views out on the water and a fully-certified dive center with a decompression chamber.

And now we get to the really interesting part: because it’s designed with polar expeditions in mind, La Datcha comes with an impressive array of dedicated toys. In addition to the two certified, operational helicopters, helipad and hangar, it also comes with two beach lander tenders, two snow scooters, two expedition RIBs and even a three-person submersible.

Being IMO Polar Code compliant, La Datcha is able to break through 16-inch thick ice and get guests as close to the shore as they want. For those who are not in the mood to actually leave the boat on the submarine or the tenders, they can still take everything in thanks to the Observation Lounge, which comes with full-length windows.

“The Earth is so big and our life is so short, so we have to explore as much as we can,” the owner said at the launch in Romania in the summer of 2019. “I fell in love with the shape, the design. With two helicopters, you can really go further, you can see the bears and other animals. You can heliski. Any kind of activities, fishing and so on. With two helicopters you have absolute freedom to explore any remote territory as deep as you want.”

Tinkov will only be using La Datcha for 20 weeks a year, so he’s charting it for the rest of the time. He considers it a “floating chalet” so he created a tour that starts from Alaska and Kamchatka Peninsula, and stretches to Madagascar and Antarctica.

It doesn’t come cheap, though. Renting this icebreaker will set you back $824,500 a week, to which you should ad the extra money for provisions and fuel. La Datcha is currently available for charter through Edmiston Yachts.

Once work on the boat is completed, it will be delivered in September 2020 and presented at the 2020 Monaco Yacht Show.